The present invention is directed generally the field of child safety cushions, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for attaching safety cushions to furniture without marring the furniture.
It is well known that as children learn to walk, they have a tendency to fall down, sometimes against furniture. Also, it is well known that children playing in a house are not always careful and may trip, fall, or be pushed into furniture. Accordingly, there are a number of safety cushion products on the market for protecting children from furniture, and vice versa. One very successful example is a cushion known as a TODDLER EDGE KUSION brand table edge guard, model number 5004, made by Kidkusion, Inc. of Washington, N.C. This table edge guard is a long strip of cushion material with an L-shaped cross-section. The cushion material is placed around the upper perimeter edge of a table, such as a coffee table, so as to cover the table""s underlying sharp perimeter edge. The cushion material is secured to the table by suitably placed double-sided tape.
While the above product works quite well for its intended purpose, the use of double-sided tape for securing the cushion material is sometimes undesirable, due to the tendency of the double-sided tape to mar or otherwise harm the surface of the furniture. For example, when the children have grown sufficiently, or the furniture is to be sold, the cushion material is removed. In removing the cushion material, the double-sided tape sometimes remains partially attached to the furniture, leaving a residual gummy deposit, and may discolor the surface of the furniture. The process of fully removing the double-sided tape may further damage the furniture.
As such, there remains a need for alternative designs of child safety devices for furniture that provide better protection against damage to the furniture when the safety device is removed.
The method of the present invention is directed to a method of protecting a child from injury typically comprising joining a first end of an elongate strip of elastomeric material to a second end thereof form a carrier loop; applying the carrier loop to a perimeter edge of a furniture piece so as cover an adjacent portion of an upper surface and an adjacent portion of a side surface of the furniture piece, the carrier loop covering at least substantially all of the perimeter edge; attaching a cushion bumper to an external surface of the carrier loop so that the carrier loop is disposed between the cushion bumper and the furniture piece, the cushion bumper having a thickness greater than the thickness of the strip. Preferably, the longitudinal tension in the carrier loop assists in the attaching the carrier loop to the furniture piece. The method may further include cutting a plurality of slits in the carrier loop such that the slits are proximate the corners. The strip may be a vinyl strip, preferably with a hardness of 30-60 Shore A, and may be assembled from a plurality of segments prior to the joining. The cushion bumper may have a generally L-shaped cross-section prior to the attaching and the strip may have a substantially corresponding cross-section to the interior surface of the cushion bumper prior to the applying. Further, the cushion bumper may hide substantially all of the carrier loop when attached to carrier loop.
An assembly used in the method above includes a furniture piece having a top, a side, and an perimeter edge therebetween; an elongate carrier loop of elastomeric material disposed proximate the perimeter edge so as to cover substantially all of the perimeter edge, the carrier loop having a thickness; and a cushion bumper attached to an external side of the carrier loop such that the carrier loop is disposed between the furniture piece and the cushion bumper, the cushion bumper having a thickness greater than the carrier loop thickness.